Before Mr. Cottingham’s restoration was commenced in 1843, however, the whole appearance of the central tower was different, and the beautiful lantern with its many shafts was hidden from view by a vault of the fifteenth century, which rose above the great arches and completely concealed the upper portion of the tower. In his specific report of the condition of the central tower in particular, which he was instructed to deliver in writing, Mr. Cottingham said: "To enable me to form the opinion which I have now the honour of reporting, I have carefully examined the construction of the four great piers which support the tower; they are of Norman workmanship, and sufficient in bulk to carry a much greater weight than the present tower, had the masonry been more carefully constructed; they consist of a series of semi-circular columns attached to a thin ashlar casing, which surrounds the piers, and the chambers or cavities within are filled with a rubble core, composed of broken stones, loam and lime grouting; this was undoubtedly sufficient to carry a low Norman tower, but when the great Early English shaft was added on the top of this work the pressure became too great for such kind of masonry to bear. The ashlar and semi-columns, not being well bonded and deeply headed into the rubble cores, split and bulged, and the cores, for want of a proper proportion of lime, diminished and crushed to pieces. To remedy these defects, a second facing of ashlar has been attached to the piers, in some places by cutting out a part of the old ashlar, and in others by merely fixing long slips of stone round the pier with iron plugs, run in with lead,—these most unsightly excrescences have destroyed the beauty of the original design, without adding any strength to the masonry. The same unskilful hands blocked up all the original Norman arches, except one, connected with the tower piers and communicating with the aisles, choir, and transepts, leaving only a small passage-way in each.